Coiler drum for strip material



July 17, 1956 Filed Dec. 14, 1953 R. G. RUSSELL 2,755,031

COILER DRUM FOR STRIP MATERIAL 3 Sheets-Sheet l i 16266466 263 PIC-3.1.

IOU) mm A *f o rweys J y 7, 1956 R. G. RUSSELL 2,755,031

COILER DRUM FOR STRIP MATERIAL Filed D80. 14, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I 76 8T9 7a 79 In venfir, ROBERT GORDON RUSSELL wl b fh, 7W

y 1956 R. G. RUSSELL 2,755,031

COILEZR DRUM FOR STRIP MATERIAL Filed Dec. 14, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 /nven r.- R0Rr GORDON R u SSELL CQEER DRUM FOR STRIP MATERIAL Robert Gordon Russell, Sheflield, England, assignor to Davy and United Engineering Company Limited, Sheffield, England Application December 14, 1953, Serial No. 398,137

Claims priority, application Great Britain December 18, 1952 9 Claims. Cl. 242-72 In coiler drums as used, for example, in rolling mills, it is common firmly to secure the leading end of the strip to be coiled in a gripping means incorporated in the coiler drum. The strip can then be wound on the drum under tension, and, to enable the wound coil to be drawn axially off the drum, the latter is arranged to contract, the drum being arranged to expand again, of course, prior to winding the next strip.

An object of the present invention is to arrange a coiler drum as aforesaid so that a given expansion or contraction in cross-sectional area can be effected simply and with economy of movement, while enabling the end of the strip to be gripped effectively in an automatic fashion without affecting the effective diameter of the drum when in the expanded condition.

According to the invention, a coiler drum is provided with a number of segments outwardly movable relatively to one another to positions in which the drum is in an expanded condition from which it may be contracted to enable a wound coil to be removed, a jaw on one of the said segments, a second jaw, arranged to co-operate with the first to grip the end of the strip to be wound on the drum, and means for moving the said one of the segments outwardly with respect to the axis of the drum by a predetermined amount, during the expansion of the drum, while causing the jaws to approach one another for the purpose of gripping the strip, one of the jaws being arranged to yield during the closing action so as to enable the actuating means to undergo the same movement irrespectively of the gauge of strip to be wound. Advantageously one of the segments and the second jaw are moved outwardly, with respect to the axis, simultaneously but at different rates so that the jaws approach one another as the drum is expanded. Thus the second jaw may lie radially inside the first and move outwardly at a higher rate than the first so as to close thereon.

A very symmetrical arrangement may be provided by arranging all the segments, for example three, to move outwards relatively to the axis of rotation in order to expand the drum. Preferably the outward and inward movement of the segment is effected under the control of an actuator movable to-and-fro inside the drum and in a direction which is substantially normal to the diametral planes thereof. The actuator may carry series of wedge faces that coact with wedge faces on the segments to expand the drum, return movement taking place under the action of springs acting radially at opposite ends of the segments, and under the action of the hoop stress in the coil when wound on the drum. The segments may be carried by a rotary tubular member inside which the actuator can reciprocate, the associated wedge faces being formed on members connected to the actuator and mounted to reciprocate outside the tubular member.

To enable the segments to return to their innermost positions, under the action of the aforesaid springs and hoop stress, the angle of friction between the mating wedge surfaces must bear such a relation to the angle of the Wedges that the segments do not tend to lock in nitecl States l atent ice 2 any set position. It is for this reason that, owing to the fact that the segments are of substantial length, a comparatively large number of comparatively steep wedge surfaces are employed rather than one or two long ones set at a small angle.

Similarly the second jaw may be moved outwardly by the actuator through the medium of a series of mating wedge faces. These wedge faces slide down one another as the actuator rod is returned to enable the drum to contract, the movement preferably being assisted by springs acting on the rod through the medium of the last-mentioned wedge faces and positively separating the aws.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, one construction in accordance therewith will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of a coiler drum assembly, the section being taken on the line II in Figure 2,

Figure 2 is a cross-section taken on the line II-II in Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is an end elevation looking in the direction of the arrow III in Figure 1, but showing the drum in a contracted condition instead of in an expanded condition.

In this example, the backbone of the drum is a rotatable tubular member 1 mounted in supporting bearings (not shown) at the left-hand end (as viewed in Figure 1) and carrying three drum segments 2, 3, 4 distributed around the cantilever portion thereof. This tubular member 1 has, comparatively speaking, very thick walls formed with peripheral faces 5, 6, 7, which lie, as viewed in cross-section, on the sides of an equilateral triangle, the sides of which register respectively with the three segments. The side 5 that registers with the segment 2 carrying the jaws 8, 9 is wider than the other two 6, 7. Each face is formed in a longitudinal recess 10, 11, 12 of rectangular cross-section.

In each recess 10, 11, 12 is longitudinally slidable a wedge member 13, 14, 15 formed on its outer face with wedge faces 16, each inclined outwards in the direction of the unsupported end of the drum at an angle of roughly 13. These faces are joined by surfaces 17 at right angles to them. The length of each such wedge member is such as to provide an effective inclination for the wedge faces. Two angle-shaped pieces 1% of anti-friction material are mounted round the inner longitudinal corners of each wedge member 13, 14, 15 so as to enable it to slide easily in its recess 10, 11, 12. Each such anti-friction unit, as viewed in cross-section, extends part way along the inner face of the wedge member and part way up one side of the wedge member towards the wedge faces thereof. The lateral portion .of the unit is locked to the wedge member 13, 14, 15 by one or more projections 19 that enter the side of this member.

The wedge member 13 associated with the segment 2 carrying the gripper jaws 8, 9 is provided on its outer face with a central longitudinal recess 20 which extends radially into the member to a depth which is deeper than the depth of the aforesaid inclined surfaces which are, therefore, divided into two separate lengths 13a, 13b thereof. These lengths mate respectively with wedge faces 16a on two strips 21, '22, formed with similar wedge surfaces, set into longitudinal grooves, on opposite sides of the jaw mechanism, in the inner surface of the associated segment 2. Each of the other two wedge members '14, 15 mates with wedge faces 16a on a similar strip 23, 24 in its respective segment.

The tubular member 1 has formed in its wall three slots such as 25, '26 at to one another and spaced from one another along its length. I' lhese slots extend into the bases of the recesses 10, 11, 12 in which the wedge members 13, 14, 15 slide and through each of them projects a tongue 27, 28, 29 from the associated wedge member that fits into a slot in a reciprocable actuator rod 30 in the tubular member 1. The tongues are free to move along the slots such as 25, 26 in the tubular member 1 so that, when the actuator 30 is pulled towards the supported end of the drum, the wedge members move with it longitudinally and force the segments 2, 3, 4 radially outwards.

At the inner end of the drum segments 2, 3, 4 the tubular member 1 is formed with a radial flange 31, which has fixed thereto by means of pins 32, a ring that overlaps the periphery of the adjacent portions such as 36, 37 of the segments 2, 3, 4. The ring 35 carries compression springs 38, 39, 40 that bear on the said adjacent portions such as 36, 37 at their inner ends and at their outer ends bear on heads, screwed into the ring 35 and carrying rods 41, 42, 43 which, together with bores 44, 45, 46, stabilize the springs axially.

Just beyond the ring 35 the segments themselves are provided with radial flanges 47, 48, 49 that slide radially on the adjacent face of the ring 35, with an intervening lining of anti-friction material 50.

At its outer end the tubular member 1 has a reduced portion 1a to which is keyed a flange 51, secured by a nut 52, of sufficiently small diameter to enable a wound coil to clear it while being removed from the drum. The flange 51 has an annular axial projection 53 that overlaps a small portion of the adjacent ends of the segments. These ends, 54, 55, 56 however, are set radially inwards much further than the corresponding parts such as 36, 37 at the other end of the segments and, like those parts, they are abutments for radial compression springs 57, 58, 59, 60 carried by the annular projection 53. These abutment ends extend axially outwards from flanges such as 61, 62 extending radially inwards from the segments 2, 3, 4. These radially inward extending flanges have stop surfaces 63 that engage stop surfaces on the adjacent annular projection 53 so as to limit the outward movement of the segments 2, 3, 4. Inward movement is limited by a third flange 64 on the tubular member 1, that lies just inside the aforesaid inwardly extending flanges such as 61, 62 and engages stop surfaces such as 65, 66 within the segments. The inward movement of the segments 2, 3, 4 is, of course, brought about by the compression springs 38 40, 57 6t) and by the tension in the wound strip, when the actuator is moved outwards.

Adjacent ends of the segments have interdigitated circumferential projections 67.

Torque is transmitted to the segments by keys (not shown) between the ring 35 and the flanges 47, 48, 49 and between the flange 64 and the flanges such as 61, 62.

Reverting to the aforesaid springs by which the segments are urged radially inwards, it will be seen that, while at the ring 35, one compression spring 38, 39, 40 is allocated to each segment 2, 3, 4, at the flange 51 there are two compression springs 57, 58, acting in one and the same diametral plane, applied to the segment 2 with the jaw assembly therein, and one compression spring applied to each of the other segments 3, 4.

The lubrication of the engaging wedge surfaces is effected by a duct system appearing only in Figure 2 and comprising three ducts 68 that extend along the tubular member 1, one between each pair of wedge members. From each duct two branches 69 emerge leading respectively to longitudinal recesses 70 beneath the adjacent sides of the associated wedge members. Thus, each wedge member has two such recesses 70, fed separately from two ducts 68 extending parallel to one another along its inner surface. Sets of ducts 71 extend outwardly from these recesses respectively to the adjacent sides of each wedge member. Further ducts 33 and 4 grooves 34 carry the lubricant to the engaging wedge faces 16, 16a.

Turning now to the jaw assembly, this is similar to that described in my copending application Serial No. 289,090, filed May 21, 1952, now Patent No. 2,723,086, for Coiler Drums for Strip Material, except that the thrust member 72 (or series of thrust members if there is a row of these distributed along the inner jaw as described in the said application), is not operated by a roller moving over a cam surface. Instead the thrust member 72, between which and the inner jaw 9 a series of compression springs 73 are distributed, is formed on its inner surface with a series of seven wedge surfaces 74 mating with similar surfaces 74a on a strip 75 fixed centrally in the longitudinal recess 20 in the adjacent wedge member 13. These wedge surfaces mate a little closer to the drum axis than the other wedge surfaces on the member and are somewhat steeper. As in the aforesaid application, the thrust member 72 slides in a plunger 76 that carries the jaw 9 and is reciprocable in the segment 2 against the action of two rows of compression springs 77, 78. The latter are mounted in recesses in the segment 2 and act on flanges 85, 86 on the plunger 76. Flanges 87, 88 on the thrust member 72, engaging shoulders 89, 90 inside the plunger 76, limit the movement of the thrust member 72 relatively to the plunger 76 under the action of the springs 73 which are substantially compressed even when expanded to the maximum extent allowed. When the jaws 8, 9 are closed with strip interposed between them, the flanges 87, 88 separate from the shoulders 89, 90. The strip to be gripped is introduced between the two jaws through a slot 79 in the segment 2.

The lubrication of the engaging wedge surfaces of the jaw mechanism is effected through a duct system appearing only in Figure 2 and including an axial duct 80 in the actuator rod 30 leading to a radial duct 81 in the tongue 27 on the wedge member 13. This radial duct leads into a longitudinal passage 82 from which ducts 83 lead respectively to grooves 84 in the wedge surfaces 740.

In operation, when the drum is in its contracted condition, the end of the strip to be wound is inserted in the slot 79 so as to lie between the jaws 8, 9. The actuator rod is then moved, for example by hydraulic means, axially in the drum causing the wedge faces 16 to slide on the wedge faces 16:: thus expanding the drum. Simultaneously the wedge faces 74a acting on the wedge faces 74 cause the plunger 76 to move radially outwards at a greater rate than the segment 2, owing to the greater inclination of the faces 74, 74a than the faces 16, 16a. Therefore, the jaws are closed as the drum expands. in the absence of any strip (as shown in Figure 2) the full closure of the jaws takes place substantially simultaneously with the full expansion of the drum. With strip present, however, the plunger 76 yields against the springs 73 during the final movement of the thrust member 72. In any event the movement of the thrust member 76 compresses the springs 77, 78 to a greater or lesser extent. The mechanism, therefore, accommodates itself to strip of ditferent gauges without in any way affecting the extent to which the drum expands. When the strip has been wound on the drum, the actuator rod 30 is moved, or allowed to move, to the right as viewed in Figure l, permitting the drum to contract and the jaws to separate. The latter action is the result of the wedge surfaces 74a moving to the right as the thrust member 72 moves radially inwards under the action of the springs 73 until the flanges 87, 88 engage the shoulders 89, 90, and then the plunger 76 and thrust member 72 moving radially inwards as a unit under the action of the springs 77, 78.

The coil can then be removed from the right hand end of the drum, as viewed in Figure 1, the end of one coil in the slot 79 and between the now open jaws 8,

9 is withdrawn through a registering slot 91 in the flange 51.

I claim:

1. A rotary drum on which strip material is to be coiled, said drum comprising, in combination, a plurality of peripheral segments mounted for relative outward and inward movement so as to increase and decrease the effective diameter of the drum, means for eifecting said relative movement by actuating at least one of said segments inwardly and outwardly by a predetermined amount relatively to the axis of rotation of the drum, a jaw on an actuated segment, a second jaw mounted to cooperate with said first-mentioned jaw to grip the end of the strip to be wound on the drum, and means cooperating with said actuating means for causing said jaws to close and grip the strip, said cooperating means including resilient means enabling one of the jaws to yield during the closing action so as to enable said segment to undergo the same outward movement irrespectively of the gauge of the strip to be wound.

2. A rotary drum according to claim 1 in which said actuating means and said cooperating means move said segment and said second jaw outwardly simultaneously but at different rates so that said jaws approach one another as the drum is expanded.

3. A rotary drum according to claim 1, in which said second jaw is mounted to move radially outwards with respect to the drum, and in which said cooperating means moves said second jaw radially outwards at a higher rate than the outward movement of said segment under the action of said actuating means.

4. A rotary drum on which strip material is to be coiled, said drum comprising, in combination, a plurality of peripheral segments, mounted for relative outward and inward movement so as to increase and decrease the effective diameter of the drum, including a segment mounted, for the purposes of such expansion and contraction, for radial inward and outward movement relatively to the drum axis and formed with a slot for the reception of the end of the strip to be wound, a jaw on said segment at the inner end of said slot, a second jaw mounted to cooperate with said first-mentioned jaw to grip the end of the strip to move radially towards and away from the axis of the drum so as to be wound on the drum, an actuator, means on said actuator for controlling the inward and outward relative movement of said segments, means delimiting the outward movement of said segments, and further means on said actuator operative to cause said jaws to approach one another to grip the end of the strip, the approach occurring at least in part during the outward movement of said segment.

5. A rotary drum, on which strip material is to be coiled, comprising, in combination, a rotary tubular member, a plurality of drum segments distributed around said tubular member and mounted thereon for radial inward and outward movement, an actuator reciprocable in said tubular member, members, each formed with a series of wedge faces and connected to said actuator, mounted to reciprocate outside said tubular member, said segments being formed with wedge faces cooperating with said wedge faces on said members, a pair of rela- 60 2,564,482

tively movable jaws mounted within one of said segments to grip the end of the strip to be coiled, said one of said segments being formed with a slot through which the strip is passed from the periphery of the drum to said jaws, the slot emerging at the periphery of the segment in a direction permitting the strip to enter the slot at a very obtuse angle along a gentle bend and means interposed between said jaws and said actuator for closing said jaws as a result of the movement of said actuator to cause said wedge members to move so as to expand said drum.

6. A rotary drum on which strip material is to be coiled, said drum comprising, in combination, an axial rotary supporting member, a plurality of segments mounted to rotate with but to move outwardly and inwardly relatively to said supporting member and to the axis of the drum, said segments being distributed around said supporting member to provide the drum surface, actuating means for controlling the radial movement of said segments, a jaw fixed in one of said segments, a second jaw mounted to reciprocate radially with respect to the axis of the drum towards and away from said first jaw, thrust means formed with a series of wedge faces for closing said second jaw on said first jaw, said actuating means including a member formed with wedge faces cooperating with said first mentioned wedge faces to close said jaws when said actuating means are operated to expand the drum.

7. A drum according to claim 6, comprising also radially acting compression springs interposed between said thrust means and said second jaw.

8. A drum according to claim 6, comprising also springs interposed between said second jaw and said one of said segments to ensure the separation of the jaws when said member formed with wedge faces permits the jaws to separate.

9. A rotary drum on which strip material is to be coiled, said drum comprising, in combination, an axial rotary supporting member, a plurality of segments distributed around and mounted to rotate with, but to move radially outwardly and inwardly relatively to, said supporting member, stop members adapted to limit the outward and inward movement of said segments, a jaw fixed in one of the segments, a second jaw mounted to reciprocate towards and away from said first jaw, an actuator mounted for to-and-fro movement along said drum and within said segments, said actuator being operatively associated with said segments to effect the expansion of the drum, thrust means formed with a series of wedge faces for closing said second jaw on said first jaw, a member, reciprocable with said actuator, formed with wedge faces cooperating with said first-mentioned wedge faces to close said jaws when the drum is expanded, compression springs interposed between said thrust means and said second jaw, and further springs interposed between said second jaw and said one of said segments to ensure the separation of said jaws when the drum is contracted.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Kentis Aug. 14, 1951 

